LIV Golf's inaugural invitational tournament, worth a record $25m at Centurion Club, gets under way on Thursday; Phil Mickelson, former world No 1 Dustin Johnson and Ryder Cup legends Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are among the playing field
Thursday 9 June 2022 07:35, UK
After months of speculation and back-and-forth between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, the new Saudi-backed series is to get under way on the outskirts of London on Thursday. Here's all you need to know about who is taking part, what is the format, and why the new league has been so controversial...
The event is not being recognised by the Official Golf World Ranking (OWGR), meaning no world ranking points will be on offer during the tournament, although that has not stopped a number of high-profile names agreeing to play at the Centurion Club.
Former world No 1 Dustin Johnson and Ryder Cup legends Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were among the most notable names to commit, with major champions Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen also involved. Phil Mickelson was added to that list on Monday evening after months of controversy surrounding comments he made about the breakaway series.
Former British Masters champion Richard Bland and PGA Tour veteran Kevin Na also signed up, while reigning US Amateur winner James Piot is among the young players featuring in England.
Some 42 players were initially named in the field for the inaugural event, with five more added after the Asian Tour event at Slaley Hall on Sunday.
Looking ahead to the second event at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland from June 30 to July 2, Bryson DeChambeau has said he will play in it and Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler are reportedly set to join him.
Johnson, Na, Garcia, Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace have all resigned from the PGA Tour, but Mickelson and DeChambeau do not plan to do so.
Johnson's decision to resign from the PGA Tour means that as of now he is unable to be selected for future Ryder Cups, although he remains hopeful that the situation may change.
European Ryder Cup legends, Garcia, Poulter and Westwood are also hopeful they will be allowed to take part in future events. Rory McIlroy has ruled out joining the LIV series but believes those that do compete should not be disqualified from Ryder Cup selection.
Each of the four majors are independently run and can decide whether LIV golfers can participate in their competitions. The USGA confirmed on Tuesday that those teeing it up at the Centurion Club that have already qualified for next week's US Open - which is live on Sky Sports from June 16 - will be allowed to take part.
Reports first began to surface of a rival league to the PGA Tour as far back as 2019, but it was only in late 2021 that the proposal truly began to take shape with the formation of LIV Golf Investments.
This new entity, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) - owners of Newcastle United - as its majority shareholder, made an initial $200m commitment to the Asian Tour, later increased to $300m, and appointed former world No 1 and Open champion Greg Norman as its CEO.
In March, despite the PGA Tour threatening to hand out lifetime bans to players who defect to a rival league, LIV Golf announced the schedule for an eight-event, $225m invitational series beginning at Centurion Club in St Albans on Thursday.
LIV is the Roman numeral for 54, which is the number of holes to be played in each event. It also refers to the lowest score a player can shoot were they to birdie every hole on a par-72 course.
Due to the PIF's links to the Saudi government, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman serving as chairman, LIV Golf has faced accusations of sports washing.
Norman has adamantly denied such claims, telling Sky Sports in May that Saudi Arabia is "changing their culture within their country" and insisting "I do not answer to Saudi Arabia. I do not answer to their government or MBS".
Comments from a Mickelson interview with author Alan Shipnuck, who is writing an unauthorised biography of the six-time major winner, came to light in February, in which the 51-year-old questioned Saudi Arabia's human rights record and called the regime "scary".
Mickelson has since apologised for his "reckless" comments.
All 48 players compete against each other in a traditional stroke play format, with the lowest 54-hole total from the no-cut event being the winner, while a draft will help allocate players into the team format.
Each team will have a LIV appointed team captain who will select their three open team positions via a snake draft format, similar to those used on the Ladies European Tour in the Aramco Team Series.
For the first two rounds, the best two stroke play scores will count for each team. For the third and final round, the best three scores will count, with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes being named the team winner.
The format changes in the Team Championship, which is a seeded four-day, four-round, match play knock-out tournament. The top four seeds automatically receive a bye through the first round, with the remaining eight teams playing against each other to see who reaches the quarter-finals.
Captains in bold, with the 48-strong field divided into 12 teams
4 ACES - Dustin Johnson, Shaun Norris, Oliver Bekker, Kevin Yuan
HY FLYERS - Phil Mickelson, Justin Harding, TK Chantananuwat (a), Chase Koepka
PUNCH - Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Blake Windred
CLEEKS - Martin Kaymer, Pablo Larrazabal, JC Ritchie, Ian Snyman
IRON HEADS - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Hideto Tanihara, Viraj Madappa
SMASH - Sihwan Kim, Scott Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma, Itthipat Buranatanyarat
CRUSHERS - Peter Uihlein, Richard Bland, Phachara Khongwatmai, Travis Smyth
MAJESTICKS - Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Laurie Canter
STINGER - Louis Oosthuizen, Hennie du Plessis, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace
FIREBALLS - Sergio Garcia, David Puig (a), James Piot (a), Jediah Morgan
NIBLICKS - Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Turk Pettit, Oliver Fisher
TORQUE - Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Adrian Otaegui, Andy Ogletree
The first seven events all have a prize purse of $25million, with $20m being distributed between the 48-man field and the remaining $5m being shared between the top three teams at the end of each week.
The winner will receive $4m (£3.2m), considerably more than the $2.7m awarded to Scottie Scheffler for his victory at The Masters and Justin Thomas secured for his PGA Championship success, while every player is guaranteed at least $120,000 just for completing 54 holes.
An Individual Champion will be crowned at the end of those events, with a $30m fund distributed for the top three players of the season, providing they have played in a minimum of four tournaments.
The prize purse doubles for the season finale in Miami and sees $50m allocated between each of the 12 four-man teams. Each player receives a 25 per cent cut of team earnings, with $16m awarded to the winning team and $1million for the team finishing 12th.
The inaugural event in London is the first of eight tournaments due to take place over the next few months, including five in the United States and two in Asia, with an expanded schedule then planned in the coming years.
Pumpkin Ridge GC in Portland from June 30-July 2 and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster from July 29-31 are the next two events, with further US-based tournaments take place in Boston from September 2-4 and Chicago from September 16-18.
Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok is the venue from October 7-9 and Royal Greens Golf Club - the site of the Saudi International in recent years - hosts the following week, with the season-ending Team Championship then hosted at Trump National Doral Miami from October 27-30.
LIV Golf plans to have 10 events in its 2023 calendar before expanding to 14 tournaments from 2024, although dates and locations for those have not yet been confirmed.
"We have a long-term vision and we're here to stay," said Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, via a release. "We're going to grow the game, give more opportunities to players, and create a more entertaining product for fans."
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